


Daughter of Wisdom, Son of the Sea

by adrina_stark



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Influenced by Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Minor Character Death, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-07
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 11:25:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2579780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrina_stark/pseuds/adrina_stark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Monsters, Greek Gods and a mysterious prophecy - will Emma Swan be able to find home within all the mess?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The man was driving along the quiet road, forests stretching on both sides. His daughter gurgled in the back seat and he smiled at the sound, still amazed at the breath of emotion such a small person could elicit. He knew the trip must be boring for an infant – especially being able to do nothing but stare at the seat – so he turned up the radio and cleared his throat. The song had been popular in the last year and he knew some of the lyrics so he prepared his best singing voice – or at least one that wasn't completely horrible.

_"And life was nothing but an awful song,_

_but now I know the meaning of true love,_

_I'm leaning on the everlasting arms"_

A small laugh erupted in the back seat and it took all his willpower not to turn in amazement.

"Was that your first laugh, baby? That's amazing, we've got to have another one!"

_"I believe I can fly,_

_I believe I can touch the sky,_

_I think about it every night and day"_

Another laugh encouraged him on as his movements became more dramatic, keeping one hand on the wheel.

_"Spread my wings and fly away,_

_I believe I can soar_

_I see me running through that open-_ "

He stopped suddenly as something walked onto the road. It was a tall creature, with the upper legs of a man but the hairy chest, hooves and head of a bull. It wielded an axe in each of its hands and was spinning them around. The minotaur seemed to smile as the man drove closer but he managed to keep his calm disposition, like he was trained.

"Okay, baby, hold on tight, Daddy's going to get us out of this."

He swerved to the right and the minotaur followed so he quickly changed to the left, driving half off the road. A thud from the boot told him the minotaur had thrown his axe and them and he thought they were in the clear when he saw a black shape out of the corner of his eye and a hellhound barrelled into their car.

The man slammed onto the breaks but they still drove into a tree, the impact jerking him forward. His daughter began to cry in the backseat and he attempted to unbuckle himself, hands shaking.

"It's okay, baby, I'm coming."

The baby was too distressed for his soothing nonsense, especially as the hellhound tackled the car once again. The car was jolted to the side and the man finally undid his belt, sliding to the passenger side. He unsheathed the sword that rested there and rolled down the window, preparing for the monster's next charge. He thrust the sword in the creature's face and it turned into dust in an instant.

He had no luck with the door so he exited through the window, buckling his sword around his waist. He saw the minotaur walking leisurely down the road, knowing they had nowhere to turn. He walked around the car to where his daughter was seated and pulled open the door, moving her into his arms.

She was still crying, perfect face scrunched up as he adjusted her baby blanket around her. Only years of training alerted him to the threat behind and he spun, the spear cutting him across his shoulder. He cried out in pain and kicked at the snake-woman, her green skin and double snake trunk showing her to be a Scythian Dracanae. She fell back and it gave him to opportunity to unsheathe his sword and decapitate her.

He looked down at his daughter urgently, checking for any injuries as she simply stared back, green eyes intent on his face. The relief that flooded his system was short lived as the minotaur roared.

The man plunged into the forest, feeling himself grow weaker by the second as he bleed out, staining his daughter's white blanket. He searched the forest desperately, knowing there were most likely more creatures than the minotaur hunting for them both.

His eyes fell upon a tree with a small hollow, perfect for concealing a child. He stabbed his sword into the dirt and placed his daughter in, stroking her cheek with a trembling hand.

He closed his eyes and lowered his head in prayer, murmuring softly, "If you ever cared for me or her, please show me a sign. Please protect her and guide her home if I am unable to do so."

The man heard a fluttering in the tree above him and looked to see a small grey owl sitting on a branch. It cocked its head and seemed to hoot mournfully.

"Thank you," he whispered, "I know there is nothing more you can do."

A roar echoed in the forest behind him and he knew his time was almost spent. Tears trickled down his face as he kissed his daughter's head and tucked her more securely into her blanket, moving the bloodstains away from her face.

"I love you so much, baby. Find them. Find your home."

Turning from his daughter seemed like the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, especially as she whimpered and shifted in her blanket, like she knew she was being left alone. The tears had stopped once he pulled his sword from the dirt, his pain replaced by an icy hatred of those who would threaten his family.

He looked back – not at his daughter, knowing that would break him – but the owl who watched over her and its golden eyes glinted in the shadows.

He ran forward, searching for the minotaur and jabbing at it as it snuffled, hunting for their scent. It roared and swung at him, catching him on the ribs and he dashed away, never once looking back as he lead the monsters away from his daughter.

* * *

On the nearby road, an older man – already getting his grey hair – with his young son pulled over, their car inexplicably breaking down. The man exited his car and grumbled, claiming to be a woodworker and not a mechanic.

His young son waited dutifully in the car as the man stared over the engine, that is until a small bird in the forest caught his eye. The grey creature seemed to be moving its wing in an invitation and in the few years of the child's life, he had never been good at resisting temptation. He unbuckled himself and pushed his car door open, ignoring his father's cries as he wandered into the forest.

The bird eventually stopped on a branch and the boy paused in shock, allowing his father to catch up.

"What do you think you're doing, my boy? You could get lost in here," the older man scolded.

The boy simply pointed to the tree and the man stilled, noticing the bundle inside.

"Oh my," he said as he moved forward, looking at the small baby hidden in the hollow.

He smiled as he saw the name embroidered in purple letters, "Hello Emma," he cooed. His smile quickly faded as he noticed the blood on the blanket and he picked her up, checking her for injuries.

"Is it okay?" His son asked.

" _She's_  fine, my boy." He took hold of his son's hand and began walking back to his car, "Come on, let's see if we can get our car to work and take her someplace safe. She's going to get hungry soon."

The owl, forgotten by the two, flew off once the car had started, the baby held securely in the boy's arms. The bird flew until its keen eyes spotted him, lying on the forest floor, sword just out of reach. He was covered in monster dust and slowly bleeding out, but he was still alive. His eyes struggled to focus on the owl and his words emerged slowly, thick with pain.

"Is she safe?"

The owl hooted and the man smiled with what little strength he had.

His breathing became laboured as the owl flew down next to him and in a flash of light, it transformed into a woman. He tried to speak but the woman hushed him, stroking his cheek.

"Be at peace now, brave one. You will find much comfort in Elysium."

The man's eyes fluttered closed, soothed by the voice and words and he soon passed his last, shaky breath. The woman continued to stroke his cheek until they both disappeared in a flash of light and the life in the forest resumed its normal course, as if nothing tragic or momentous had occurred at all.


	2. beginning i

The owl was starting to get a bit weird. At first she had ignored it, the nights were getting colder and she needed a warm place to sleep so Emma had bigger problems to worry about than oddly behaving birds. But it had been days after she had first spotted it and it was still following her, its gaze way too knowing for her liking, especially from a bird. It seemed judgmental too, going by the tilt of its head after she shoplifted from the convenience store but she had to eat so she ignored it. If she had paid more attention in school, so possibly could have guessed what kind it was, but all Emma knew was that it was small, grey and annoying.

She was sitting in the park, trying not to seem like she was a 16 year old runway when the owl starting hooting continuously and flapped its wings in the tree above her.

"Cut it out," she snapped, the last thing she needed was to be noticed. She stood up to move away from the bird and that's when she noticed him, the reason she had fled her last foster home. Michael seemed ordinary enough when she first met him, if a little tall, but sometimes she noticed inexplicable things out of the corner of her eye, like the fact her new foster father only had one.

The owl hooted again and took off, Emma glancing between the bird and the man quickly marching towards her. After a second of indecision, she slung her small bag of belongings on her back and followed the owl, even though following a bird seemed like an insane option, it would probably be the least insane thing that had happened to her in her entire life if everything she had witnessed had been true, and not what had often been described as the product of an overactive mind.

She followed the owl through the twists of the Manhattan streets, leaving angry people in her wake as she pushed passed them. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that Michael was still behind her and even though a large hat covered most of his face, she could feel his eyes –  _eye_  – on her. The bird ducked down an alley and she quickly turned into it.

"What the hell?" She shouted, when she saw she had turned into a dead end. The glared up at the bird, sitting on the fire escape and it seemed to cock its head in a challenge.

"Seriously? Stupid bird," she muttered and gazed at the fire escape, looking for the best way up. Knowing she was short on time, she hastily climbed onto a large garbage bin and prepared herself to jump towards the ladder. She took a deep breath to calm herself, her dyslexia may have always made it difficult for her to engage with the academic side of schooling, but she did enjoy physical activities. She ran and leapt, shrieking slightly and holding tight when the ladder dropped. She heard a growl at the end of the alley and saw Michael standing there. Emma quickly scurried up the ladder and pulled it back up before he could reach it.

She caught her breath on the platform while Michael roared below her. The owl seemed to be staring at her impatiently so she straightened and asked, "So, where to next?"

* * *

Emma considered that she could possibly be quite insane. That could be the only explanation for how a bird could write an address in the dirt and why she was even considering going there. It was a couple of hours after fleeing from Michael and Emma found herself in another park with her little bird guide. The bird had them hopped to the ground and to Emma's amazement, began writing words in the dirt.

_Camp Half Blood, Half-Blood Hill, Farm Road 3.141 Long Island, New York, 11954_

"You want me to go here?" She asked and received a hoot in response. She figured a taxi from Manhattan to Long Island would be fairly expensive and going by the money she had remaining after stealing from Michael, she wasn't going to have enough for a return trip.

"Okay, then," she muttered to herself, "Might as well check if I'm insane or not."

She began walking to the street, searching for a good place to hail a taxi when she noticed the owl wasn't following her. She spun to see where it might have gone, but her little friend had vanished, just like the words in the dirt. Emma swallowed and pretended like it didn't make her feel incredibly lonely.

* * *

"Are you sure you want me to drop you here?" The driver asked, concern obvious in his voice. Emma peered out the window and saw nothing but trees surrounding the end of the road.

"I'm sure," she replied, trying to keep her voice firm. She paid him and exited the taxi, shouldering her backpack. The sun shone overhead as Emma climbed the hill, wondering what she'd find on the other side. The view would have taken her breath away – if she had any left – and she stared at the site in front of her. There was a small valley that ended near the shore, but the valley was dotted with buildings that looked like they belonged in a museum. Several of the buildings seemed to be based off Ancient Greek designs, which seemed odd next to the Volleyball court and the strawberry field. Emma was about to make her way down to the buildings when she noticed a rope blocking her path – it appeared to surround the camp and Emma touched it curiously.

"No, stop!" Emma jerked back as a female voice called out to her. She quickly jogged up to Emma, the quiver on her back bouncing with every step.

"Cross that line and you'll be cursed like the rest of us," the girl said sadly. Emma felt like she had been thrown into some other world as she took in the girl's appearance. She seemed a couple of years older than Emma, with had short black hair and a pixie-like face, which was the normal part, the abnormal part included the fact she was wearing Greek armour strapped over an orange shirt and carrying a bow like she just stepped out of Robin Hood.

"Uh," Emma said intelligently. She would have thought her encounter with a literate bird would have prepared her for anything but she was sadly wrong, "What do you mean, 'cursed'?"

"I can't explain," the girl replied, looking around furtively, "You need to leave before they catch your scent."

A roar from the bottom of the hill startled Emma and the girl pushed her from falling across the rope.

"You need to leave," she hissed.

"That thing's been chasing me all day," Emma shot back, "Where do you expect me to go?"

The girl cursed and pulled a horn of her belt, the sound echoing across the valley.

"You stay right there and do not cross the line," the girl said firmly, radiating more authority than Emma would have thought possible from someone of her stature, "If I leave the camp I'll just bring more monsters so I'm just going to have to try and take whatever it is out from here."

Emma was impressed by how quickly the girl nocked her arrow but was shaken out of her admiration by Michael making his way up the hill, and he had apparently decided to bring two of his largest friends. The first arrow that sprouted from his friend's forehead seemed to have no effect, nor the second. Michael roared as he saw her and looked to be preparing to charge when his head became a pincushion for half a dozen arrows and he turned to dust.

Emma spun to see half a dozen teenagers arranged behind the girl, all dressed in Greek armour – although quite hastily going by the taller teenager who had his breastplate on backwards. The last two of Michael's friends decided it would be best to charge rather than run, which seemed like a good tactic as they teenagers probably wouldn't be able to take them out before they reached Emma.

"Dodge!" The girl called and Emma rolled to the side as the barrelled past her. The girl managed to shoot one of them in the eye and he changed to dust but the last remaining enemy accidentally tripped over a tree root, which caused the arrows to miss him and landed him within grabbing distance of Emma. She tried to scramble away but a meaty hand wrapped around her before she could and she felt herself being lifted into the air.

Emma heard herself screaming as she struggled in its grip but the next thing she knew, she was soaring through the air. She felt something, like a shiver run over her body as she passed over the boundary, but she didn't pay much attention as she landed painfully on the ground.

She groaned and rolled on her side, and watched the final guy – monster? – dissipate into dust. The girl quickly rushed over and kneeled next to her, placing her bow to one side.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Peachy," Emma groaned, "What the hell were they?"

"They were Cyclopes," she said matter-of-factly and Emma would have checked herself for a head wound if she hadn't have been lead here by a bird, "But that doesn't matter right now. I'm Mary Margaret and this is Camp Half Blood. We'll take you to the Big House to get you checked out and settle you in, you're going to be here for a long time."

Mary Margaret helped her to her feet and called to another boy, "Victor, I need you to come with me to help... I'm so sorry, I haven't even asked your name yet."

"Emma Swan."

"So you can see if Emma's alright. Leroy," she said to a short but burly teen wielding a wicked axe, "I'll need you to take my patrol while I settle Emma in. Every else, good work, put your armour away and get some rest."

The other teenagers made their way down to the camp and Emma followed, leaning on Mary Margaret, wondering what that damn bird had gotten her into.

* * *

She must have passed out because the next thing she new, Emma was waking up with a blonde haired woman staring down at her.

"Ah," the woman said cheerfully as Emma jerked back, "She's awake."

Emma looked around from her view on the couch and saw Mary Margaret in the corner, minus her armour, leather necklace with a couple of beads hanging above her shirt that took Emma a moment to read –  _Camp Half-Blood_. She gave Emma a brief smile before the blonde haired woman blocked her view, green dress swishing with the movement, "Now, drink this."

The woman sighed as she saw the suspicious look that crossed her face, "It's not going to hurt you, I promise. You'll probably like it."

Emma accepted the goblet with a frown but downed the liquid anyway. She nearly choked as the taste of hot chocolate entered her mouth – something she was not expecting – even with an aftertaste of cinnamon that she always liked.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, shoving the goblet away.

"Nectar, it'll make you feel a lot better."

Emma had to admit that her body didn't ache as much after her drink and her mind felt clearer. She blamed any head wound she might have had on why she didn't immediately notice that the woman's eyes had a green glow about them.

"Okay, then," the woman said cheerfully, "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, I'm Tinker Bell, the Activities Director. I'm actually excited to have you here, we haven't had anyone new in so long."

"Your name is Tinker Bell? Like the fairy?"

The woman huffed, "I was around first. Curse mortals and their tendency to warp stories. I am a nymph, not a bloody fairy!"

"Right," Emma said, "And what's Camp Half-Blood?"

"A camp for children like you, it used to be the only safe place for you, but now..." Tinker Bell sighed wistfully.

"Children like me?"

"Children of the Gods, of course."

Emma let out a weak laugh, "Okay, seriously, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Tinker Bell," Mary Margaret cut in, "Maybe it'll be better if I give her the tour. Give her some time to process her new situation."

Tinker Bell nodded and Emma stood, marvelling at how well she felt. She followed Mary Margaret out the door, giving the weird-glowing-eyed woman a wide berth.

Mary Margaret was standing on the porch, staring over the strawberry fields to the shore beyond and Emma had to clear her throat to get her attention.

"Right," she said with a blush and began walking, "I know it's hard to believe Emma, but the Gods are real."

"Like the Christian God?"

Mary Margaret shook her head, "The Greek Gods."

"If there were really Greek Gods, shouldn't they be in, I don't know, Greece?"

The other girl smiled, "The Gods move with the power of Western civilisation, you can see evidence of it in architecture everywhere and for now, they reside here."

"And they have nothing better to do than have kids?"

"Well, that was one thing the stories actually got right," Mary Margaret said with a shrug.

"So who are your parents then?"

"My Dad was a banker, my Mum is Aphrodite, Goddess of Love." She laughed when she saw the glance Emma made between her and her bow, "I know, children of Aphrodite aren't typically fighters but I've always like the bow. I can outshoot most of the Apollo kids," she said proudly.

"How do you know I'm a... What did you call it?"

"We usually call ourselves half-bloods but demigod is also appropriate. You found your way here and that's usually a sign – so is the fact that monsters want to kill you. This may sound personal, but do you have any learning difficulties?"

Emma flushed with embarrassment at the question, recalling all the foster parents who have called her dumb, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"ADHD – battle reflexes, might save your life one day. Dyslexia – English isn't a natural language for you, I suspect you'll find Greek much easier." Mary Margaret shrugged at Emma's startled look, "You're not alone with having issues."

Emma glanced across the camp as they made their way around the strawberry field, she looked to the ground and asked a question that had haunted her whole life, "Do you know who my parents are then?"

Mary Margaret stopped in her tracks, "You don't know who either of your parents are?"

Emma shook her head, eyes firmly on the ground as Mary Margaret asked curiously, "How did you find the camp if your mortal parent didn't tell you?"

Emma thought a writing-bird may have seemed weird even in this camp so she decided a half-truth would be better, "My new foster Dad was that Cyclopes you guys vaporised and he chased me here. Is he dead?"

"Unfortunately not. He'll go to Tartarus for a bit then be reborn, hopefully not in either of our lifetimes."

"But I'll find out who my other parent is?" Emma was slightly angry at how hopeful she sounded after all these years, the dreams of having a decent parent were hard to truly shake off, and she felt a disappointed twinge when Mary Margaret sighed.

"You'll only know who you're godly parent is if they claim you and sometimes, they don't. It sucks, but they're either busy or they don't care." Mary Margaret's hand on her shoulder caused Emma to look up and she was blown away by the kindness in her eyes, "But this is your home now Emma, and we are a family here, claimed or not."

Emma nodded and cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Come on," Mary Margaret said sympathetically, "How about I actually give you the tour?"

* * *

"Is that lava on the climbing wall?"

"It's actually just goo, but thinking it's lava makes you want to faster." Mary Margaret said with a laugh.

Emma didn't want to admit it, but she was actually enjoying the other girl's company, she had a sense of humour Emma liked and a quiet strength that made Emma feel safe. They had done a circuit around the camp and Mary Margaret had shown her the volleyball court, practice grounds for archery and sword fighting, the dining pavilion and the forge. They had their own arena and forest for capture the flag. Emma wanted to stay at the Pegasus stable but Mary Margaret ushered her along with a smile, telling her she'd have plenty of time to fly around. She was a little startled by the naiads in the canoe lake, but Mary Margaret had assured her they were friendly, as long as you didn't litter. Emma didn't realise how much time had passed – how eventful her day have been – when she noticed the sun was close to setting as they made their way to the cabins.

"Since you are undetermined, you'll be staying in the Hermes cabin. One of his titles is the God of Travellers so he doesn't much who he supports."

"Are there many other kids in this cabin?" Emma asked hesitantly.

Mary Margaret smiled at her kindly and Emma felt a little better, wondering if all the other campers were as friendly as the other girl, "There are some undetermined children like you, some children of Hermes and some children of the minor Gods."

"They don't have their own cabins?"

She shook her head, "Only the main Olympian Gods have cabins here. Aurora and Elsa are actually the only children of the minor Gods we have... The others, well, they left. Let's just leave it at that."

The sadness in Mary Margaret's tone stilled the questions on the tip of Emma's tongue.

Mary Margaret seemed to shake herself and forced a brightness to her voice, "The cabins go like this," pointing to each one along the horseshoe shape, "Hermes, Hephaestus, Apollo, Ares, Poseidon, Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite and Dionysus. Aphrodite's my cabin."

The names went in then straight out of Emma's head and she looked at the cabin she was meant to be staying in, with what looked like old shoes thrown out the front.

Mary Margaret scrunched up her nose, "Unfortunately, Hermes is not the God of Cleanliness."

They began to walk around the cabins, Mary Margaret listing typically aspects of the children of each God.

"Do all the Gods have children?"

"Artemis doesn't since she's a maiden goddess and Hera absconds since she's the Goddess of Marriage and cheating on her husband probably wouldn't be the best way to uphold that. It is kind of frowned upon for Zeus or Poseidon to have children since their children turn out to be a little too powerful so out of the Big Three – Zeus, Poseidon and Hades – we only currently have a child of Poseidon in the camp. You'll meet him later, I except it'll take you a while to learn everyone's name."

"That's for sure," Emma muttered, then looked to Mary Margaret to gauge her reaction, "And what if I want to leave?"

Mary Margaret froze in her tracks, outside a cabin made of grey stone. She turned to Emma and spoke very directly, "You will die Emma. You were cursed just like the rest of us the moment you stepped into camp and the moment you leave, monsters will have your scent and you will not survive." Emma felt a shiver of fear run through her body at Mary Margaret's words but the moment was broken as a voice spoke behind her.

"Excuse me, lass, would I be able to exit my cabin?"

Emma shuffled to the side to look at who was standing in the doorway and she tried not to blush. Emma had never stayed in one place long enough to start any meaningful relationships but that did in no way mean she couldn't appreciate a view.

They boy smirked as he saw Emma taking in his appearance, messy black hair with devastatingly blue eyes and she tried to regain her composed demeanour.

"Killian, this is our newest recruit, Emma Swan. Emma Swan, met Killian Jones, son of Poseidon."

Killian held out his hand and Emma shook it, trying to not be affected by the electricity that seemed to shoot up her arm or the feel of his warm grip.

"Pleasure to meet you, Swan. We don't often get new faces around here, so I'm glad to see it's one as pretty as yours." Killian said with a wink.

A horn blowing across the valley brought woke Emma from her stupor and she snatched her hand back.

"I'll see you ladies at dinner then," and he swaggered off.

"You get used to him," Mary Margaret said with another shrug.

"Are there camps in other countries then?"

"No, the Gods typically hang around in America, we have a couple of exceptions of children who were raised in other countries but eventually made their way to camp. I think Killian's Mum was on a business trip or something when she met Poseidon." Another horn sounded and Mary Margaret began to walk briskly, "Come on, dinner's usually good."

"Where do you get food from if you can't leave?"

"One of the satyrs can leave without getting attacked, only half-bloods can't leave." She pulled on Emma's shirt, "We don't want to be late."

* * *

She and Mary Margaret walked over to the pavilion in an easy silence and Emma watched as other campers sat down at different tables.

"There aren't that many campers."

"There used to be more," Mary Margaret replied sadly, "But many tried to leave and hardly any survive if they do."

Emma didn't know what to say so instead she let herself be distracted, "Is that a faun?"

"Shh, they'll get insulted if you call them that, they're satyrs. They help around the camp but I mainly think it's because they're all pretty much in love with Tinker Bell."

The woman in question was beckoning Emma to her as she stood near a table on a higher tier. Mary Margaret wished her luck and moved to her own table, sitting next to a two younger girls and a boy as Emma uncomfortably walked over to the Director. Emma was used to being ignored – often preferred it – so she fidgeted under the attention of the campers. There were twelve tables, some being empty like the cabins but most tables having only a few children on each. Although there were a few tables with only one camper. She saw Killian sit at a table by himself and she quickly looked away, feeling his eyes on her the entire time. Emma assumed the table with around a dozen campers was the Hermes table – her new roommates.

"Everyone, settle down," Tinker Bell shouted, and the noise died away. "As you know, we have a new camper, everyone, I'd like you to meet Emma Swan."

"Is she determined?" A boy sitting on his own asked.

"Keith, that is hardly a friendly greeting-"

"I just want to know if she's the one prophesised so we can leave this place, unless our resident Saviour would like to stand up and save the day?" The last comment was directed at a brunette sitting at a table by herself, and she hunched further into her seat.

"That's enough, Keith," Tinker Bell snapped, "Now, I expect you all to welcome Emma warmly and show her the ropes." She then directed Emma to sit with the Hermes cabin and huffed into her own seat, annoyance obvious.

Emma glanced at her cabin mates unsurely as she sat down at the end of the table, but the blue-eyed girl gave her a smile and Emma tried to respond in kind.

"It's alright, it's a bit intimidating when you first learn about all this stuff. I'm Aurora."

"Emma. Are you a daughter of Hermes?"

Aurora blushed and Emma cursed her tongue, "No, I'm actually a daughter of Hypnos but he doesn't have a cabin so I stay with Hermes." Aurora shrugged like it didn't matter but Emma could see how it might be painful so she searched for another topic.

"Can you tell me who everyone is?"

"If you forget, just ask me again, it took me ages. On this table we have, Jacqueline – but she prefers Jack, John, Will and Elizabeth – please don't call her Lizard, it's a terrible nickname – and they're all children of Hermes." The campers in question nodded as their names were called, "The rest are Anton, William, Anna, Archie and Sean, they're all undetermined like yourself. Elsa is a child of a minor Goddess – like me – she's a daughter of Khione so she's the person to go to if you ever want a snowball fight. She and Anna are actually sisters, although they probably have different godly parents."

Emma blinked as the names washed over here, "Have you all been here long?"

"A lot of us were here before the curse, some came after despite our warnings because of monster attacks or simply having nowhere to go. Killian was the last person who came until you and that was about six months ago."

* * *

The rest of dinner passed in a blur to Emma. The satyrs started passing food around and Emma didn't realise how hungry she was until food was put before her and she remembered the last thing she ate was what she had stolen from the convenience store that morning. Aurora stopped her from stuffing her face right away and Emma realised her fellow campers were standing up while she was drooling over her food.

Aurora explained that you place some of your food in a brazier in the centre of the pavilion as a tribute to the Gods. Emma didn't know who to pray to as she scraped some food in – didn't even know which of her parents was mortal – so she walked from the brazier feeling slightly disappointed.

Camp fire singing was apparently scheduled after dinner, which Emma was not particularly enthused for so when she saw Mary Margaret slip away from the group heading to the bonfire, she decided to follow. Emma did genuinely want to talk to the other girl but she ducked behind a cabin when she saw her comforting the withdrawn brunette from before.

"It's okay, Belle," Mary Margaret soothed, "You're doing the best you can."

"But maybe they're right, maybe I'm not doing enough," Belle cried, going by the accent, Emma guess Belle was another one of the 'exceptions', "I'm the only one left and I've been researching for so long, and maybe the answer isn't here. A child of Athena is supposed to be able to break this curse and I've barely tried."

Belle buried her face in her hands as Mary Margaret rubbed her back, "All of your siblings tried to fight Regina and now all your siblings are dead." Mary Margaret said firmly, "We are missing a piece of the puzzle and you are the best one to find it. Keith Nott is an ass so you can ignore him, the rest of us know you are doing the best you can."

"It's been four years, Mary Margaret," Belle replied between hiccups, "What if there is no way to break this curse?"

"You know, it's bad form to spy, Swan," Emma jumped as a voice whispered and she spun to find Killian right beside her.

"I wasn't spying," Emma hissed back, "I wanted to talk to Mary Margaret but..."

Killian looked over the scene sadly, "But she is a little busy with poor Belle. Come on, lass, let's leave them to it, you need to be introduced to the wonders of magical campfires."

* * *

The campfire wasn't that bad and the magic side of it was impressive. The campfire was enchanted to reflect the mood of the campers and they seemed to be cheerful tonight based on the large flames. Killian informed her that Apollo cabin led the singing – their father being the God of Music – but he added, with a wiggle of his eyebrows, that he sometimes joined them in their singing. Emma rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the heat she felt as she sat next to him.

Mary Margaret eventually returned alone and the campers called out for their favourite songs however Emma lost focus about halfway through, the events of the day finally catching up with her. Aurora seemed to take pity on her and offered to escort her back to their cabin. Killian teased something about sweet dreams but Emma was too tired to even roll her eyes. The camp seemed like another world at night, Greek buildings shining in the moonlight, the path lit by torches.

The inside of the Hermes cabin was filled with bunk beds and clothes messily strewn everywhere, as to be expected from a cabin full of teenagers. Aurora picked her way around the mess and showed Emma to an empty bunk with a change of fresh clothes and toiletries she'd arranged and she saw her pack sitting on the end of her bed. Emma wasn't sure how grateful she sounded – she was so tired – but Aurora seemed to understand and merely wished her a good night. Emma had barely removed her shoes before she fell asleep.


	3. beginning ii

Emma settled into the routine of camp life fairly quickly, adjusting to new people was something she was used to in the foster system. What terrified her was how attached she was becoming to them, and she wondered how long it would take before her new family here decided they didn't want her and shipped her off. From what Emma heard, that would be a death sentence. Emma was terrified of having to leave, because being in camp simply felt like finally coming home.

Before Emma knew it, a couple of days had passed. She was busy learning the faces around camp and that Hermes cabin were likely to prank you for revenge and fun and children of Demeter knew way too much about plants. She quickly realised that the only son of Dionysus, Keith Nott, was a jerk and a bully so she tried to stay out of his way. Aurora was one of the sweetest people in the camp, but she was the heaviest sleeper Emma had ever met, and she was often late for her morning activities because of it. The youngest kids in the camp at thirteen were twins of Demeter, Nicholas and Ava Zimmer, and you had to be careful around them because they liked to make weeds grow around your feet when your attention is elsewhere so you fell flat on your face. Robin Locksley of Apollo and Marian Fox of Demeter were dating and spent most of their time together, when she wasn't chasing her siblings, and apparently Keith liked her too, which resulted in him being more of a jerk. The biggest annoyance in camp was Killian Jones, who kept on trying to tell her that she was gripping her sword wrong when he wasn't flirting with the naiads or communing with sea creatures.

She was pretty good at figuring out who the power resided with – a useful skill when constantly shifting foster homes and schools. Each cabin had its own leader – Jack being the leader of the Hermes cabin – but most cabin leaders deferred to Mary Margaret as well, Emma didn't know if it was her presence, her skill with the bow – and if the gossip was correct – and the sword or because she was one of the people who had been at the camp the longest. Emma's survival instinct would have been either to steer clear of her or to get in her good graces, but Mary Margaret was kind and gentle, so it was easy for Emma to ignore the voice in her head, for a time anyway.

When she wasn't overwhelmed by the people, camp was like a dream. Her mornings started with a cabin inspection, which Athena or Dionysus cabin usually lost, Athena because Belle usually was sidetracked by her research and Dionysus because on top of being a jerk and a bully, Keith was also a slob. Next was sword and shield practice. Jack quickly took Emma under her wing, found her a short sword that suited her and began showing her the basic forms. This was followed by archery with Mary Margaret, which she didn't like as much as her sword, but she did enjoy her time with Mary Margaret. Her day was also filled with learning Greek with Belle, Pegasus riding and Tinker Bell would take a class on fighting different types of monsters. In the afternoon, Emma would get free time where she might spend some time with Mary Margaret, go relax on the beach or play volleyball with her cabin mates (which usually ended in an argument as the Hermes cabin didn't always play by the rules).

Today she felt like a bit of solitude so she decided to walk through the strawberry fields – Demeter cabin's pride and joy. Emma was enjoying the quiet and the scent of strawberries when she spotted Belle off to the side of the valley, sitting by herself in a pile of scrolls.

Emma didn't see much of the other girl outside of Greek lessons and meal times – sometimes not even then. But she was curious on what she was working so hard on so she walked over to her, having to clear her throat several times to get her attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Belle flushed, "I get a little distracted sometimes."

"That's fine, do you mind if I sit?"

"Oh no, not at all." She picked up some of her scrolls and parchment so Emma could sit next to her.

"What is all this stuff?"

"The solution, hopefully," Belle said, quickly up speed as she became more engrossed by her thoughts, "There has to be a way to break this curse and I believe we do have it documented somewhere. With more knowledge about what the curse is and how it was cast, it should be easy to find a way to break it so I've been researching everything we know about magic and the legends. If we had the prophecy, it would be so much easier..."

"What is this prophecy I've been hearing so much about, anyway?"

"Honestly," Belle said with a frown, "We're not exactly sure, it's usually referred to as the 'lost prophecy' for a very good reason. We know it discussed the curse and a 'child of Wisdom' or Athena, breaking it, besides that, we simply don't know."

Sitting with Belle, Emma finally found the courage to ask the question that had been on her mind since she arrived at camp, "And how was the curse cast?"

Belle sighed and stared over the camp before responding, "It was cast by one of us – a camper. Her name is Regina and she is a daughter of Hecate, Goddess of Magic and a lot of other titles. Regina was always bitter about her mother not getting the recognition she thought she deserved and thought the twelve Olympian Gods had been in power too long. But it wasn't until she was on a mission, this was probably five years ago, and her boyfriend died. She blamed the Gods for not protecting him, the other camper on the mission for freezing and she wanted to punish them all. She disappeared for a year and the next thing we knew, we were cursed."

"That... Sucks," Emma said, attempting to be sympathetic but not having much experience with it.

"Daniel – Regina's boyfriend – was very kind, he liked the Pegasus. We all miss him and everyone else we've lost. Nothing about this situation is fair and now it's on me to fix it."

"It shouldn't have to be all on you, I don't see why some incomplete prophecy has to dictate your life," Emma argued.

Belle's eyes glistened and she smiled at Emma, "That's nice of you to say but I feel like I have to do this. All of my siblings have gone and tried to fight Regina, to break the curse and they all died trying to do it. I'm the last one left, not the wisest or the bravest, but I need to honour their sacrifice and let everyone here be able to leave and live their lives, see their families."

The last part startled Emma, "They have families?"

"Sure, most of us have families we haven't been able to visit in years, I have a Dad back in Australia and all I can do is send letters via Tinker Bell. It's hard for all of us. So I do want to break the curse for selfish reasons as well."

"I haven't know you that long, but I don't think selfish is a very accurate description."

Belle flushed and began playing with the beaded necklace several of the campers seemed to have.

"Is that a camp necklace?" Emma asked curiously.

"Yeah, we used to get a bead after every year – a symbol of a momentous event. I've got five now."

"The Pegasus is for Daniel?"

"It is," Belle said sadly, then jumped up as a horn echoed through the camp and scrambled to collect her documents, "I'm going to be late for my patrol, Leroy is going to be mad."

"Patrol?"

"Yes, to make sure there are no monsters lurking around and to keep half-bloods from accidentally walking in. You'll get assigned a patrol once you've had more training."

Emma helped to pick up some of the items and offered to help carry them back, she felt like she finally did the right then when she saw Belle's smile.

They chatted about inane topics on their way back to the cabin and Emma wondered if this ease for felt in speaking with someone who was a near stranger came from having a place where she felt she belonged.

Emma hovered outside the Athena cabin as Belle entered, "Am I allowed to come in?"

"I think Athena's got better things to do than reprimand me for whom I bring into my cabin."

Emma had found the outside of Athena cabin intimidating and the owl above the doorway was a reminder of a part of her journey to camp that she hadn't told anyone and gave her a beginning of a thought she didn't want to finish. Plus, this owl seemed judgemental as well, its eyes seemingly following her as she entered the cabin.

Belle was placing her documents on a table in the centre of the room and Emma did the same, gazing around the cabin. It had several bunk beds like the Hermes cabin, but these were all pushed out of the way, like sleep wasn't the most important thing. Bookshelves lined the back wall and maps of constellations were tacked up to the ceiling. Belle's bunk – the unmade one – had maps of countries on the wall with pictures of landmarks.

"That's what I want to do," Belle said, noticing the direction of Emma's gaze, "I want to see the world, see everything I've read about – man-made and natural." She gave a self-deprecating shrug, "Just got a curse to break first."

"I can help with your research... If you want." Emma offered awkwardly and stiffened when Belle gave her a hug.

"Thank you. Maybe we'll change your Greek lessons to reading some of this stuff," she laughed when she saw Emma's scowl, "You are getting better at it. Mary Margaret and Killian are helping as well, but maybe what we need is a fresh perspective."

She hugged Emma again, grabbed her dagger and rushed out the door, leaving Emma to wander the camp. She could have sworn the stone owl watched her as she left.

* * *

The Swan girl was entertaining, Killian admitted as he trained in the arena and watched her out of the corner of his eye. Fiery and persistent and it was amusing to see her riled up during their conversations, especially when he critiqued her form or called her 'Swan'. It seemed like she'd been at camp longer than a week but she naturally seemed to fit into all their lives. He first saw her blonde hair streaming down her back and blocking his doorway, but his annoyance quickly faded as she turned and those green eyes met his. His brother would have laughed at how he had thought she was a siren or some manner of mythical creature come to steal his soul.

Killian froze mid-swing, Riptide a comfortable weight in his hand as he remembered his brother – his mission. He attacked the dummy more aggressively, blocking out the memories, the flashes of monsters, his brother yelling, bleeding. When Killian was able to focus again, he was breathing heavily and the dummy was a mess.

He recapped his sword and shoved it in his pocket, striding towards the beach, purposefully avoiding looking at Swan. He could feel the sea in his veins, calling him, offering him sanctuary and his long-legged stride quickly took his to the beach. With practised confidence, he walked straight into the waves, keeping his own clothes dry and soon he was submerged under the waves. He sat in the water for some time, breathing the water as easily as he would air. He reined his memories in until they were once again locked away in a corner of his mind where they couldn't haunt him and tried to do the same with his thoughts of the Swan girl.

The movement of the ocean brought Killian some measure of peace and he felt refocussed, ready for another day as a camper and more importantly, steeled himself for his rendezvous later in the evening. If she sensed any weakness from him, Killian knew he was a dead man, but, for better or for worse, the one thing Killian excelled at was surviving.

* * *

Like all good things, Emma's peaceful time at camp didn't last long. She had been at camp for over a week and was coming back from a canoe race – Killian Jones won again – and she was wet and wanted nothing more than a warm shower. Raised voices were unusual at camp, they might bicker but not yell, so Emma went to investigate.

"YOU SIT WITH YOUR BOOKS ALL DAY AND YOU ARE USELESS." Keith screamed into Belle's face, "WE NEED AN ACTUAL SAVIOUR, NOT A SPINELESS BOOKWORM."

Belle cringed and Emma saw red, pulling Keith back and punching him in the face before she knew what she was doing.

Emma thought Keith's look of complete shock was worth it as he probed his split lip.

"You bitch," he spluttered, "You're just as bad as she is, being an undetermined waste like the rest of them."

Emma knew there was a crowd forming but she didn't care, all she could feel was the anger in her veins.

"Belle is doing all she can to break this curse and you just yell at her for not doing enough. Maybe if you got off your ass and actually tried, maybe you could save the day, or maybe you'd die and save us all some trouble. I can't believe you rely on some dumb prophecy that you lost and don't even know what it really says."

Keith got to his feet and Emma tried to not let the fear show on her face. Keith might be a lazy slob but he was taller than her and did have some muscle.

"Like you know anything," he growled, "You've only been here a week and your parent doesn't even care enough-"

Emma flinched as his words washed over her, reminding her of her biggest fears. Her hurt quickly turned to confusion as she noticed he had stopped mid-sentence and was staring at something over her head. Emma turned around but only saw Belle, who was also gaping over Emma's head. She stepped back and saw a red mark in the air before it flashed away, an image of an owl holding an olive branch. It was a sight Emma would remember for her entire life.

"Well, well," Tinker Bell said brightly, cutting through the silence, "It looks like Emma's been claimed and we have another daughter of Athena in our ranks. How about we give her a more official welcome?"

As the campers clapped around her and Keith walked away, muttering to himself, Emma could only stare in horror at where the image was, thinking of how in defending Belle from the prophecy, her mother had seemingly decided to shift it to Emma instead.

* * *

Emma stared up at her new bunk, almost missing her short moment of obscurity in the Hermes cabin. Only Aurora seemed truly sad by her leaving and she tearfully hugged her, although Emma reassured the girl that she was barely moving twenty metres away. It didn't seem to help. Mary Margaret had tried to talk to Emma as she moved cabins, but Emma had quickly shrugged her off, wanting to avoid the considering eyes of the other campers.

Belle was quiet as Emma settled in and said she needed a walk before Emma could say anything. Now Belle lay sleeping on the other side of the cabin and Emma felt lonelier than ever. She moved to her back-pack and pulled out the blanket she had stuffed in there when she left her foster home.

She traced over her name, stitched in the corner in purple letters. She had thought that this blanket was all she had of her parents, and she never knew why she kept it, considering they left her on the side of the road, but she did and she took from foster home to foster home, never letting it out of her sight. If she was being honest, it was because she always had hope of one day finding a family. But it was too much.

She stuffed her blanket back in her bag and packed her toiletry items as well. Belle had some snack bars around the cabin so she took those. She needed to leave the camp before they made her, before she realised she was no Saviour, just a lost girl who never had a home.

She ignored the guilty twisting of her stomach as she stood in the doorway, watching Belle sleep. With a whispered goodbye, she slipped out the door, ignoring the feeling of the owl's eyes on her back.

* * *

She picked the lock on the armoury and took out her sword. She knew monsters would swarm on her the moment she left camp, but emotional preservation seemed more important than physical safety in that moment. She moved close to the ground and avoided the torches, when she reached the edge of the strawberry field, she waited for whoever was patrolling the border to pass – it looked like Archie at this distance – and quickly dashed up the hill.

When she reached the rope, she looked over the camp sadly but expectations and responsibility were not something Emma Swan was good at. Running, however, running she was well versed in.

She stepped over the rope and into the wood surrounding the camp, the sword on her hip a reassuring weight.

She had made it about fifty metres when she heard an annoying hoot and saw that damn owl sitting in a tree above her, yellow eyes glowing in the darkness.

"I am not interested in your judgement, little bird," she snapped, "And you can tell my mother that I will not be her saviour. I am not a saviour. If she really wanted to stop me from leaving, she would have come down here herself."

With her speech given, Emma walked off, until she heard the owl screeching and fluttering its wings.

"What do you want from me?" She asked angrily, staring up at the bird. A growl sounded from the undergrowth near Emma and she felt her heart beat furiously in her chest as a pair of large, yellow eyes watched her. She took small steps back, hand shaking as she drew her sword as a dog as large as a car stepped out of the shadows.

"A hellhound," Emma breathed, remembering the monster from one of Tinker Bell's lessons.

She levelled her sword at the monster and all of Jack's teaching seemed to rush out of her head. The hellhound leapt at her and Emma dodged to the side, swinging her sword into its flank. The celestial bronze managed to wound it, but it wasn't enough to dissipate it entirely. Emma was facing the monster, ready to attack when she heard another growl behind her. A quick glance showed another hellhound, this one just as big, and Emma jumped to the side as they leapt.

She managed to pick herself off the ground and picked up her sword as the already wounded hellhound attacked. She instinctively jabbed and managed to sink her sword into its face, causing it to turn into dust.

The other rushed at her and swung its paw into her sword hand. The sword fell to the ground with a terrible clang and Emma watched in terror as the monster stepped closer, mouth opened in a snarl. Next thing she knew, Emma was coughing as the hellhound exploded in her face.

"Are you alright, lass?"

Of all the people to save her, it had to be him. "Just fine," she replied, waving the monster dust out of her face.

"You look it." He said sarcastically, his tone at odds with the concerned once-over she was receiving, he seemed to conclude she was fine by his next words, "You know, if you bloody well held your sword correctly, you might have had a chance against the both of them."

Emma moved to pick up and sheath her sword, "Well, thank you for the insight."

"And for saving your life?" His raised eyebrow annoyed her to no end and it took all of her self-control to hold her tongue.

His smirk seemed to drop away and he regarded her seriously, "What are you doing out here anyway, lass, do you have a death wish?"

"That's none of your business, what are you doing out here?"

"Following you to make sure you don't go and bloody well get yourself killed."

"I can handle myself just fine, I don't need to be protected."

That brought his smirk right back, "Well, that much was obvious."

Emma looked away and Killian continued in a gentler tone, one she didn't know he possessed, "I know camp can be overwhelming, it certainly was when I came here, but that doesn't mean you should run away. I thought you believed the prophecy was a load of rubbish anyway?"

She glared at him definitely, "I still do."

"Then what's got you scared?"

Emma avoided his gaze and he sighed, moving closer, "Lass, come back for now and have a good rest. If you still want to run away tomorrow, you can try again if you like, but it won't end happily for you. Just give the camp a chance."

Emma nodded and allowed herself to be guided back into the camp, hoping her natural urge to run might diminish once she was back inside its boundaries. Her fears didn't go away, but the seemed manageable when she smelt the heady scent of the strawberry fields and relaxed into the feeling of Killian's hand on her back.

* * *

Emma was surprised that Killian kept her little runaway attempt secret, and very grateful. She was hasty and so incredibly stupid in her attempt to leave, besides the fact she could have died, she would have left the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Belle was working at the table when Emma woke up and Emma began to shuffle awkwardly to the bathroom but before she could, Belle rushed over and threw her arms around her.

"I'm sorry," Belle breathed, arms tight around Emma, "I'm sorry, I just felt replaced and it wasn't fair to you." Emma hesitantly wrapped her arms around Belle and patted her on the back.

"Don't worry, this is a lot for me to process as well."

Belle laughed and Emma could see the tears shining in her blue eyes as she pulled back.

"Our first fight as sisters," Belle said with a giggle, "That didn't take long."

 _Sisters_ , Emma liked the sound of that.

"If we're anything like the sisters I've seen on television, we'll have a lot before we're through."

They both laughed at that and walked arm in arm when they were finally ready for breakfast.

"So, is there any special about being a child of Athena?" At Belle's blank look, Emma continued, "I mean, the Demeter kids are good with plants, and Killian is always showing off his powers over water and I swear the Hephaestus cabin, especially Jefferson, wouldn't leave their projects unless someone reminded them to eat. And I would like to punch the person who told Victor Apollo was also the God of Poetry, I don't need to hear another dumb haiku that doesn't actually rhyme."

"Not particularly, Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom, Handicrafts, Defence and Strategic Warfare so we if we survive to maturity, we typically end up as inventors or leaders. But, I've always thought it is wise to choose your own path based on your own strengths so to actually answer your question, no, we don't get any cool powers."

"That's a bummer," Emma said with a laugh.

"Uh, I don't mean to pry, but Mary Margaret mentioned," Belle began to splutter, "She mentioned you don't know your Dad."

Emma felt her body tense and hoped her voice wasn't cold, "What of it?"

"I really don't mean to pry if you're not comfortable talking about it, but it just means you don't know how children of Athena are born."

Emma raised an eyebrow, "I would assume like all children."

Belle was starting to grow seriously red, "Well, I don't know about the other goddesses, but Athena is... Different. She is one of the maiden goddesses after all. Do you remember how Athena was born?"

Belle had mentioned it sometime last week, "Uh, she came out of Zeus' skull." She froze and looked at Belle, "You have got to be kidding!"

Belle was bright red by now and she shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Athena's bond with our fathers is more of an intellectual love and we are born of that. We are supposed to be a blessing for our fathers."

That idea made Emma snort, "Considering he left me on the side of the road, I don't think I was much of a blessing."

Belle patted her arm and they continued their walk, "Maybe Athena will be able to explain it to you some day, but for now, you have me and the rest of the camp and you're pretty much stuck with us." They both laughed at that and were still smiling as they sat down at the Athena table.

It was different to sit at the Athena table – certainly less noisy than Hermes – but Emma was glad for Belle's company. She was also relived when Aurora still waved to her enthusiastically in between her Hermes cabin mates and Mary Margaret smiled at her while her siblings chatted. Emma studiously avoided looking at Killian as he trudged in and sat at his own table and wondered how long she could feasibly evade him for.

Jack came up to her after breakfast and Emma was instantly concerned when she saw her arm was in a sling.

"What happened to you?"

"I fell off the climbing wall. Some nectar did most of the work, but I'm supposed to leave it alone for a bit but I can still take you through some forms if you like."

Emma watched Killian leave the pavilion and realised she couldn't put it off forever, "You rest it for today, Jack, we can pick it up again when you're better."

She rushed after Killian, leaving Jack slightly confused and she caught up to him before he reached the arena.

"Swan, what can I help you with?"

She met his eyes and said, "You didn't tell anyone."

"Does that surprise you?"

"Do you always carry for sword around when you're following people?" Deflection was a tool she liked to use.

Killian pulled a simple pen out of his pocket and pulled off the lid, Emma jumped back when it changed into his bronze sword.

"Riptide's never far from me."

"Well, I am grateful for that." She cleared her throat and swallowed most of her pride, "Thank you for saving my life."

"Well, how could I resist saving a damsel in distress?"

Emma rolled her eyes and smiled, grateful he decided to make light of it.

"But your form does need work, come on, Swan, I know Jack's incapacitated so you need a new teacher."

Emma spluttered and protested, but allowed Killian to guide her into the arena all the same.

* * *

Killian quietly closed the door to his cabin and began making his way to the edge of the camp. He had a practised route that had not gotten him caught yet for which he was glad for a multitude of reasons, first and foremost being that Tinker Bell was very strict about curfew and she could be terrifying when disobeyed.

He would have preferred to have snuck out the night before – Archie being much easier to avoid – but his encounter with Swan did but his plans on hold. Killian tried to slink further into the shades at the base of the hill – cursing the fact the camp only supplied orange t-shirts – as Leroy wandered past, axe resting on his shoulder, whistling a merry tune. The older boy may be on the small side, but Killian had learnt the hard way that he was dangerous in a fight.

Once Leroy was out of sight, Killian dashed up the hill and crossed the boundary. He slowed his pace once he was further into the woods and had no fear of monsters attacking.

Killian leaned back against a tree upon reaching the meeting sight, fingers tucked into his jeans, hoping a show of nonchalance would eventually make him feel it.

"You didn't show up yesterday, Mr. Jones, I do not like to be kept waiting."

He resisted the urge to jump as the voice smoothly emerged from behind him, he simply pushed off the tree and gave his most charming smile, "I do apologise, I was caught up with other matters."

"Saving that girl?" Regina laughed at the shock on his face, "Don't be so surprised, I have sources other than you."

Regina stepped out of the shadows, and her eyes seemed to be filled with more hatred than the last time he had seen her, the only unchangeable aspect of her appearance was the large diamond that hung below her throat.

"How long do I have to stay in there, Regina? What are we waiting for?"

"Poor Mr. Jones, he can't even handle a group of teenage campers," she pouted, pacing around him.

"You promised me vengeance, not camp fire sing-a-longs."

Regina barked a laugh at that, "And to think there was a time when I enjoyed those. You'll have your vengeance, Mr. Jones, I promise you that, but we cannot simply strike at Olympus. The Gods are too powerful for us but even they have restrictions. Demigods are used as tools, take the tools away and the Gods will be weakened, ready for destruction."

"And the debt will be paid," Killian breathed.

"In full. Now," Regina said briskly, "Tell me about the girl."

"Her name is Emma Swan, she was claimed last night. She's a, a daughter of Athena." Killian replied, ignoring the churning in his stomach.

"Really? Are she and the book-worm going to team up to defeat me?"

"The Swan girl doesn't believe in the prophecy, she think it's nonsense."

"Well, that's something we can agree on," Regina huffed, "Has Belle made any progress?"

Killian shook his head, "Not that she's told me."

Regina was on him in an instant, hand gripping his chin and Killian was a bit disconcerted to realise he was still shorter than her.

"Your usefulness to me depends on your ability to obtain information, Mr. Jones, fail me and you will not get your vengeance. Fail me and I will rip away the protection I gave you and leave you for the monsters."

She jerked his chin away and began walking away from him, long hair bouncing with every step, before she suddenly came to a halt.

"And how is  _she_?"

Killian didn't have to ask to know to whom she was referring, "As optimistic and full of love as usual."

He could vaguely see Regina's hands clench at her sides, before she spoke with a strained tone, "I'll see you in another fortnight, Mr. Jones, don't be late this time." With that, smoke engulfed Regina's body, and she was gone.

Killian rubbed his chin and began slowly walking back in the direction of camp.

Dealing with Regina always left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it was the only thing that could appease the anger, the hatred. He would have torn Olympus down brick by brick for their transgressions but Regina's offer seemed so much more effective, in his enraged state, it seemed like fate.

Killian questioned himself after every meeting now. In the beginning, the rage easily kept his unease and guilt away, but now it was growing. The camp was no longer an idea, it had faces and names and personalities. His conscience was growing and if he had to give it a form, it would have green eyes with his brother's voice.


	4. beginning iii

Emma quickly settled back into life at camp and before she knew it, a month had passed. She still continued her normal lessons, the only difference being that she sometimes practiced her sword with Killian rather than Jack.

She was wandering over the beach in her spare time when she saw him, staring at the sea like it had all the answers. She sat herself next to him, deliberately scattering sand.

"Oi, Swan, I'm water resistant not sand resistant."

"Don't get greedy with your abilities, Killian, it's not 'good form."

By his groan, he was not impressed by her mimicry of his accent, "Terrible, lass, I sound nothing like that."

She simply laughed and he soon joined in and it felt so natural to be two teenagers enjoying each other's company outside their magical camp.

"How did you end up with that accent anyway?" When she saw him stiffen, she quickly continued, "I don't mean to pry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

He shook his head ruefully, "It's not a big secret, Swan, I just haven't spoken about it in awhile. My Mum was in America for work, that's when she met Poseidon, and they had a brief relationship before she went back to Ireland. We stayed in Ireland for a couple of years, but there wasn't enough work for her to support two kids –"

"Two kids? You have a sibling?" Emma cut in eagerly.

"Liam, uh, was my older brother." Before she could offer her sympathies or whatever she was supposed to, he affixed a fake smile to his face, "Now are you going to let me tell the story, lass?"

Emma nodded and shifted to a more comfortable position in the sand.

"We eventually moved to England so she could get better work and Liam eventually joined the Navy. It worked for us, for a time, before she got sick and she died." This time Emma did shuffle over and placed her hand on her arm, eyes asking him to continue.

"Liam looked after me then, but before Mum died, she told me the truth about my parentage and asked me to come to America, to camp. She apparently knew who Poseidon was the whole time and only left because she had left Liam with a friend while she was working and had to get back to him." He began drawing circles in the sand with his left hand, forcing his gaze on the repetitive motion. "So, Liam and I packed up our lives and made our way here, only to find out the camp was cursed. I am a powerful half-blood so there were some monster attacks but the camp gave us some celestial bronze weapons, and in his only act as a parent, Poseidon gave me Riptide and we made it work. For a time, at least."

Killian looked down at her and Emma was again taken aback by how blue his eyes were, especially in the fading light.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I don't know what else there is to say."

Killian shrugged and Emma removed her hand from his arm, "There is nothing to say, Emma, you seem to know that."

Emma bit her lip, considering. It would be so easy to run, listen to what survival instincts peaceful life in the camp hadn't worn down, but she was tired of being alone and going by that look in his eyes, Killian understood.

"I was found on the side of the road, in a tree actually, left with nothing but a baby blanket. Then I spent my life shifting around foster homes until now. I've never wanted to stay in one place more than I want to stay here and it terrifies me that I might have to leave. And it terrifies me how much I want to stay." Emma shrugged, "That made more sense in my head."

Killian grasped her hand and her skin tingled at the contact, "I know the feeling, Emma."

They sat like that, in a comfortable silence, watching the sun move down the horizon until the horn sounded for dinner and the moment broke, leaving them both making awkward jokes about how hungry they were.

* * *

"Emma, it's time to get up."

Emma rolled over and pulled the pillow over her ear, attempting to block out Belle's voice.

"Just five more minutes," she mumbled.

"I gave you ten minutes already. Inspection's going to be soon and Mary Margaret's on duty today, you know she likes things to be neat."

She groaned and sat up in her bunk, running her hands through her hair as she yawned.

"Fine, I'm up, I'm up."

Belle was moving around the room, tidying up as she went as Emma made her bed.

"Emma," Belle's voice called out, "Do you still want this backpack?"

She held up the bag Emma had travelled to camp with, an adventure that seemed like a lifetime ago, her baby blanket sticking out.

"It's a cute blanket," Belle said as she passed the bag over.

Emma accepted it, "It's just the same as yours, isn't it?"

Belle frowned, "I don't think children of Athena come with matching blankets."

Emma pulled her blanket out and stroked her name in the corner, "I thought this was from Athena, that it came with me when I... You know, sort of magically appeared."

Her sister shook her head, "You'd be the first to come with a baby blanket, it must have been from your father."

"But that doesn't make any sense," she protested, "Why would he go to the trouble of getting me a blanket if he was just going to leave me on the side of the road?"

Belle squeezed her shoulder gently, "We're not going to find the answer here, Emma, but maybe we can do some digging into your past, see what we can find. But for now, we have an inspection to prepare for." She gave her another pat and moved away, leaving Emma holding her blanket and wondering if she truly would ever find out where she came from, and when she'd abandon the hope that she'd been loved.

* * *

Emma was apologising to Aurora between laughter, both in a fit of giggles over their last capture the flag game. It was a fortnightly tradition in Camp Half-Blood, the winning team – or group of cabins – being able to assign chore duties and the shower schedule. This week, Athena was allied with Ares, Apollo and Poseidon against Hermes, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Hephaestus and Demeter. The other team may have had greater numbers but this week Emma was aligned with the more effective fighters which helped them win the day. She did unfortunately get into a bit of a scuffle with Aurora, but they had both began laughing about it as soon as the horn sounded – signally her team's victory.

"After all I've done for you," Aurora tried to say indignantly, but the effect was ruined by her giggles, "You go and knock me down."

"Can't help it I'm so amazing with the sword," Emma sang.

"There's Mary Margaret," Aurora pointed through the trees, "Come on, I want to commiserate our defeat with her."

Emma's gaze followed Aurora's finger and she saw Mary Margaret through the woods, in a discussion with Keith, as they made their way over, their words drifted through the trees.

"It's just a game, Keith, no need to get so worked up," Mary Margaret was saying.

"Sure it's just a game now, but whenever we can leave this stupid camp, it'll be our lives and I do not want to end up a bead around someone else's neck."

Mary Margaret grabbed her own necklace, "That's hardly fair."

Keith gestured wildly, "None of this is fair. It's not fair that we're stuck here, especially when you're the only one who deserves the punishment."

Aurora rushed forward, standing beside the stunned Mary Margaret and she clicked her fingers in front of Keith's face, "Enough, Keith, sleep."

Keith fell in a heap on the forest floor as Emma made her way to the girls' side. She nudged him with her boot, "Is he okay?"

A loud snore answered that question and Emma looked up at her friends, noting Aurora's concerned expression and Mary Margaret's hurt look.

"How'd you do that?"

"Some people can control water, some people can control plants, I can put people to sleep... Sometimes. Works better on myself."

"That's still pretty cool," Emma insisted and Aurora blushed.

"Will," Aurora shouted suddenly to the boy who was walking past them, "Keith's gone and knocked himself out, help me take him back to camp, will you?"

"The man's a bloody menace and now I have to carry him. Bloody hell," Will muttered and the two of them picked up Keith under his armpits and dragged him along, Aurora shooting her a 'go talk to Mary Margaret' look.

"Mary Margaret," she said and the girl blinked at her, as if just realising she was there, "You want to talk about it?"

Mary Margaret sighed and sat down next to a tree, Emma copying her movements.

"Did anyone ever tell you about Regina before she cast the curse?"

"Just what you said, she was bitter about her place in the camp."

"I suppose that is true, but there is so much more to her than that. I came here when I was eleven, my Dad had just died – bitten by a snake on one of his business trips if you can believe it – and I was just readjusting to this new identity I had. Regina had already been at the camp a year so she welcomed me, helped me settle in and just helped me grieve. She and Daniel both supported me so much. We spent three years together and yes, she became bitter than her mother wasn't recognised as a major God and that Daniel was still undetermined but the joy she found in the camp balanced it. We were still friends ever after I was determined."

She sighed and began playing with her bow, "I got to go on my first mission three years later. It was supposed to be simple, an easy first-go and I had both Regina and Daniel supporting me so I didn't think there was anything to worry about. I still don't know what went wrong to this day, but we were attacked by a group of Laistrygonian Giants and I froze. I froze and Daniel moved to defend me, exposing himself and he died for it. Regina hated me from that day on – rightly so – and a year later she cursed all of us."

"That doesn't make it your fault," Emma argued.

"Doesn't it? I've had four very long years to think about it Emma. Daniel died because of me and Regina cursed all the campers to being stuck here as a consequence."

"We'll break it."

Mary Margaret gave a wry smile, "I thought you didn't believe in the prophecy."

"Still don't, it's a load of incomplete rubbish."

"You believe in us." Mary Margaret's eyes were shining and Emma looked away uncomfortably.

"You welcomed me here, helped me find my place and I can't lose that, so, yes, we're going to break the curse because I won't lose my family."

"Family," Mary Margaret breathed the word like it was something sacred and before Emma knew it, she was pulled into a fierce hug. Almost without meaning to, her own arms wrapped around Mary Margaret and she held on just as tight.

* * *

Emma threw her pen down onto the table, "This is so frustrating."

"I know, but the answer has to be here somewhere," Belle replied, rubbing her temples.

They were working in the Athena cabin, going over the all the information they could get on magic and prophecies and all other manner of topic with little luck.

"Let's recap what we know," Emma decided, before looking over to Belle, "What do we know?"

"Well, I have been thinking – and the research supports this – that to maintain the curse, Regina would have to contain it in something. Keeping a spell active for four years should have killed her, but if she found some sort of magical object to house it..."

"She could keep it going indefinitely," Emma finished, "Excellent."

"But if we could destroy the container, we could probably break the curse."

"That's wonderful, Belle," Emma cried, "We're getting there!"

Belle gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Maybe, but the container could be anything and she could keep it anywhere. And what's to stop her from cursing us again?"

"We are," Emma said sternly.

Belle gave an actual smile at that and tapped her lips thoughtfully, "I suppose that a curse like the one Regina cast would require powerful ingredients, so maybe she won't be able to cast it again."

A knock on their open door interrupted their discussion and Killian stood on the precipice, "I'm not interrupting am I?"

Emma shook her head, "Belle and I are just working to save the day. What are you doing here?"

"Offering my help with any translating or research you may need, as I have many times before."

She glanced at the clock in their cabin and stood from her seat, "You can take my spot, Tinker Bell wanted to talk with me now anyway."

"Have you gotten yourself into trouble, Swan?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "No, I'm not you, Jones. Belle, why don't you fill Killian in on your new theory and we'll see if he has anything useful to offer, maybe he's got more than seaweed in his brain."

"Oi," Killian spluttered, "Not everyone can be a wise girl."

She laughed at that and made her way out of the cabin, soaking in the sunlight before she made her way to the Big House, or as she preferred to call it, Tinker Bell's Headquarters.

She was able to greet all the campers by name now and could avoid the weed traps set by the Demeter twins, although, by the way they were being scolded by Marian, someone else wasn't as lucky. She knew to get out of Jefferson's way when he was walking because he was thinking about his current project and not where he was going and she waved to Mary Margaret's siblings – Ashley, Billy and Astrid – as they chatted with the naiads near the lake.

Tinker Bell was waiting for her on the porch, dressed in a Greek chiton today and she gestured Emma to come inside.

"Can I get you a drink, Emma?"

"Do you have any hot chocolate?"

Tinker Bell smiled and gestured for her to sit on the couch, "You relax here, I'll get you some chocolate."

Emma looked around the room curiously, she never had much of a reason to come into the Big House, Tinker Bell was usually flittering around outside if you wanted to talk with her and only cabin leaders came in for meetings. Two couches sat in the centre of this room and the wall to her left was covered with photographs and sketches.

She stood and moved to the wall, the presence of black and white photos and sketches of other half-bloods made Emma feel like she was a part of something. Something that had value and history, and the idea was both terrifying and exciting.

One image caught her eye as she recognised a younger Mary Margaret, long hair tied up as she proudly stood between two teenagers. One of the teenagers was male, with brown hair and laughing blue eyes and the other was female, with long black hair and regal eyes. With a chill, Emma realised she was looking at a younger Regina.

"I never could bring myself to take it down," Tinker Bell said from behind her, placing the drinks on the table, "So much has happened, and I still recall that young girl who helped so much around the camp."

Emma sat down and took a sip of her drink, appreciating it all the same without her usual sprinkling of cinnamon, "What did you want to see me about, Tink?"

"You've been here over a month now Emma, I just wanted to make sure you were settling in."

Emma shrugged, "It had its moments, but I'm fine now."

"You never did ask how we covered your absence in the mortal world."

Emma was stumped, "I guess I never really thought about it."

Tink sighed, "I suppose running away from your foster home does leave little thought about the consequences." She waved an arm dismissively, "The mortals are convinced you're in a nice home now, they do so like to accept the solution that fits in with their pre-existing views."

"Thank you for doing that."

"It's not the first time and I doubt it'll be the last," Tinker Bell regarded her over the rim of her mug, "But that's not why I asked you to come here, I simply want the truth of how you found your way to camp."

"I told you," Emma said, trying to calm her racing heart, "I was chased by a monster."

"That's not the whole truth, Emma, I would like it, and your trust."

Emma took another sip to avoid answering but deciding to tell the truth came easier to her than she thought, "I was lead here by a bird. An owl. It only made sense after I was determined."

"You're mother lead you here?"

Emma nodded, "It seems that way." Emma had considered her mother's actions over the past month and tried to ignore the warm glow the idea of her mother caring for her brought.

"There is change on the winds and I do not know if it is for good or bad. Maybe my campers will finally be free..."

"How long would have you gone on? Done the same activities every day while the campers grew older?"

Tinker Bell shrugged, "For however long I needed to."

"You never thought to lead the satyrs or the dryads or something?" Emma asked, ignoring the fact she was probably being disrespectful.

Tinker Bell didn't seem to mind her tone, in fact, she smiled indulgently, "You haven't been paying attention in your classes, have you?" She laughed at Emma's blush, "If you had listened, you would know that satyrs aren't the best fighters and that dryads cannot move far from the plant they inhabit."

"Then how can you move around camp?"

"You could call it my own personal curse," Tinker Bell said, smoothing out her dress, "I was very temperamental when I was younger and I held very long grudges. It's funny how insignificant things become when you have perspective, I can't even remember why I was holding a grudge against half-bloods, but I did and my grudge cost a half-blood their life. My work here started off as a punishment, I am to train half-bloods until I am no longer needed and the camp is my new boundary."

"That's terrible," Emma managed to say, "You did one bad thing and now you have to stay at camp forever? That hardly seems fair."

"I have had a very long time to come to terms with it, Emma. I refused to help a half-blood and to balance that, I need to help them until the end of days. But I have found my peace and happiness here, and I hope you can do the same. Know this," Tinker Bell said fiercely, holding Emma's gaze, "I consider every camper here to be under my protection, I would do anything for them and that includes you now, Emma."

Emma cleared her throat, "Thank you, Tinker Bell. And thank you for the hot chocolate." She placed her drink on the table and left, pausing only when she reached the porch. She gazed over the camp, taking in the strawberry fields, the canoe lake and all the campers walking through it. She breathed in the fresh scents and smiled, accepting that just maybe, the lost girl might find home after all.


	5. beginning iv

Emma strode along the beach, looking to berate a certain blue-eyed boy. She saw him sitting in the sand, staring over the waves and walked into his gaze, hands on her hips.

"Jones," she said, annoyance lacing her tone, "Did you forget a certain practice session we were supposed to have?"

She huffed when she didn't receive a response and crouched in front of him. His eyes were still wide and unfocused and she clicked in front of his face.

"Jones," she said with a click, "Jones. Killian!"

Killian jerked back when he finally focused on her, "Bloody hell, lass, don't invade other people's space like that."

She rocked back on her heels, "I did call out to you, you weren't paying attention."

He scowled, "What do you need?"

Emma tried to ignore the hurt she felt at his tone, "We were supposed to train together."

"Another day, lass." Killian stood up and began walking away, leaving Emma speechless.

She felt her own anger rise at his abrasive manner and was about to storm away in the opposite direction when she realised she recognised the behaviour. Whenever she felt like the world was too much, her own feelings so intense that she didn't know what to feel – just knew that she didn't want to be vulnerable, so she lashed out.

Instead of storming away, Emma chased after him, gently tugging on his arm when she caught up.

"Killian, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," He replied gruffly.

"That's a lie," she insisted, "You can tell me, Killian."

"Look around the camp, Emma," he said, gesturing wildly, "You've been here two months and you can't pretend this is fair or right. It's all a lie and we are supporting this, we are supporting Gods who don't care about us and don't care about the world." He continued, his words rushing out like a dam had been broken. "We are used as their tools and when we are hurt in order to weaken them – and they do nothing to help. We are thrown away when they no longer need us."

"Killian..."

"How can you think this is fair, Emma? You know what it's like to feel like you don't belong. Some of the kids here have been claimed – well, good for them. You parent acknowledges you once and now it's up to you to protect the fate of the world against monsters and worse. Or what about people like Aurora, you and I both know she's the sweetest person in this bloody world and her parent isn't important enough for her to have her own space. She gets shoved into a cabin with a bunch of other children whose parents can't even bother to claim them."

He was breathing heavily as he finished and Emma stepped forward, approaching like she would a wild animal.

"Screw the Gods," she said. Killian looked to the sky as if looking for a lightning bolt to strike her down as she continued, "We are a family here and we look after each other. You're right, I know what it's like to not know who are you or where you come from and I still don't. But I don't feel the need to know anymore. I know where I belong and it's with everyone here. This is my home, Killian, and I won't fight for the Gods or even humanity, I'll fight for my family."

Killian flopped into the sand and she sat gently next to him, "What brought this on?"

He spoke so quietly Emma almost missed it, "It's Liam's birthday."

Emma had never had a sibling until a couple of months ago and didn't know what it would be like to lose someone who had been such an important part of your entire life. She didn't have the words, so she simply held his hand.

"Will you tell me about him?"

Killian smiled and it finally brought some life to his eyes, "He was bloody stubborn and intelligent, and liked to let me know. He was older than me by ten years but he never pretended like he was too cool for his younger brother – or 'little brother' as he liked to call me. He was in the Navy when our mother died, already a captain, but he abandoned everything to take me on what some would call a fool's quest." He closed his eyes and breathed in the salty air before continuing, "We arrived at camp after the curse. They gave us some celestial bronze weapons and some pointers about monsters, but said they couldn't do much else. A satyr helped us relocate and we simply stayed. Liam started training me with this sword – he learnt some with his Navy training – and it was enough to fend off the few monsters that attacked. We lived normal lives for a couple of years until we were attacked by a particularly fierce monster. I can remember laughing after it dissipated, yelling that nothing could take on the Jones brothers." His voice broke, "That's when I noticed Liam on the ground. The monster was poisonous and Liam had been hit – if he had been a half-blood, he probably would have survived, the wound was so small. But he was mortal and he died in my arms."

"I'm so sorry, Killian."

"It's not your fault, Emma," he said, wiping his eyes with his other hand, "Thank you for listening, I think I need to tell someone about him."

She smiled, "I'm free anytime, I want to hear more stories about you being a 'little brother'."

"Younger brother," he corrected with a faint smile.

"That's better."

Killian eyes were shining, "You are bloody brilliant. Amazing, even."

Emma blushed and ducked her head, freezing when she felt Killian's hand tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. His hand moved to cup her check and she glanced up, feeling like she was drowning in his blue eyes. They were the last thing she saw as Killian moved forward and she closed her eyes.

His lips were warm and soft and they moved gently against her own. Emma had never gotten past the first awkward kiss with other guys but kissing Killian made her feel something deep within, something that demanded more. The kiss intensified as his hand threaded through her hair and her grasped his t-shirt, appreciating the muscles underneath.

They pulled apart, panting, and they rested their foreheads against each other.

"That was," she breathed.

Speaking seemed to break the spell for Killian as he jerked back, looking at her with what looked like an expression of guilt on his face.

"Emma, love, do you trust me?"

The answer to that was easy and she knew she'd regret it if he broke her heart, "Yes."

"I need to do something, when I come back, I'll explain everything to you, I promise." He leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead but before she could enjoy it, he moved away, dashing around the beach and leaving Emma alone as the waves crashed on the shore.

* * *

Killian ran through the camp, ignoring the concerned cries of the other campers. He raced past the strawberry field and up the side of the valley, pushing past the ache in his legs. He reached the border and groaned when he saw Aurora rushing up to him, decked out in her armour, sword drawn as she patrolled.

"What is it, Killian? Are we being attacked?" She asked urgently.

"Nothing like that Aurora... I was simply going for a run."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and she adjusted her grip on her sword.

"Killian, what's going on?"

"I need to cross and I can't have you follow me, please, Aurora."

He saw her left hand move and knew she was about to put him to sleep, in an instant Riptide was at her throat.

"I'm crossing, Aurora, don't follow me." He began backing away slowly and stepped over the line. Once he was across, he lowered his sword, "I'm so sorry, I'll explain when I get back." With that, he left the poor girl behind, shaking and pale.

He pushed his way past trees, rubbing the necklace Regina had enchanted for him – the one that made him invisible to monsters, hoping it would summon her. He was fairly certain she also placed some sort of tracking spell on it, one that most likely activated whenever he left camp, so he could never truly be free of her.

To prove his point, a voice called out from behind him, "Just what do you think you're doing, Mr. Jones?"

She stood behind him, black jewel glinting in what little sunlight there was left and Killian thought his courage might leave him at her terrifying demeanour.

"Just renegotiating our deal, darling." He said, full of false confidence and he continued despite her raised brow, "In that I'm cancelling it."

Anger seemed to radiate off her, "You will want to reconsider that, Mr. Jones. I do not appreciate when people break deals with me."

He pulled the necklace off and threw it on the ground before her, "Consider it broken." He began to walk away, but before he could take a single step, he was thrown backwards and held against a tree.

"You might have actually done me a favour, Mr. Jones, I was growing tired of this little game. It's time to end things with the camp."

"I won't let you," he spluttered.

"You're in no position to threaten me," she said with a laugh, "It will be a suitable punishment for you to see the camp have come to love in flames before I let the monsters eat you. Or maybe one of their precious Saviours will stop me." She picked the necklace up and slipped it over his head, roughly patting his cheek, "Now, you stay here, dear, I have some old friends to see."

The bark grew to encompass Killian and he struggled and screamed and Regina disappeared with a cruel smile on her lips.

* * *

Emma had made her way to dining pavilion as the sun set, feet dragging with her conflicted emotions. She was so absorbed by her own thoughts that she didn't notice the commotion at the pavilion until she almost walked into it.

The campers were in a circle, talking to each other in concerned whispers and Emma pushed forward. She found Aurora – looking paler than usual – talking with Mary Margaret and Tinker Bell and she moved to talk with them.

"... Like I said, then he held his sword at my throat and rushed past the boundary. I don't know anything more."

Mary Margaret put her arms around Aurora as Emma caught up to them.

"What's going on?"

Tinker Bell seemed torn between rage and concern, "Killian crossed the border. He threatened Aurora to do it."

"What? Killian would never do that!"

"It seems you don't know as much about Mr. Jones as you thought."

Emma spun as the other campers gasped and she saw a woman standing in the centre of the pavilion. She thought she recognised the woman from somewhere but it was only when she saw the blood drain from Mary Margaret's face and saw Tinker Bell stiffen that she realised it must be Regina.

"What do you want from us, Regina?" Tinker Bell asked, stepping in front of the campers.

"Justice."

Tinker Bell shook her head sadly, "You know we cannot give you the vengeance you seek."

"You can't," Regina sneered before addressing the campers, "I know you have all suffered under the curse put this only proves that the Gods do not care for you. You have a murderer among you, hand her over to me and you are free to go about your lives, as slaves of the Gods. Or you could join me, as I bring about a new Golden Age. Bring me Mary Margaret by tomorrow and I will free you from the curse, fail to do so, and this camp will burn."

Mary Margaret stepped forward, "Regina, you cursed us in the first place, what makes you think anyone would help you?"

"There are many half-bloods who think as I do," she smiled at the shock on everyone's face, "Not all those who left the camp died."

"Enough of this," Emma said, "What the hell did you do to Killian?"

"Nothing yet, Miss Swan," she had a satisfied smirk as she read Emma's expression, "Oh yes, Mr. Jones told me all about you, the new precious Saviour. I suppose the book-worm couldn't cut it so Athena decided to get her act together. Mr. Jones has been very helpful, we had an understanding about the Gods and the fact that they or their pawns they no place in our world."

Regina looked over the campers and smiled benevolently, "The choice is up to you. Freedom or death and all it depends on is one camper. I will be at the rock pile in the northern part of the woods if you decide to see sense, and I promise safe passage for all who do." Demands delivered, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Then chaos erupted among the campers. Voices were raised and anger was rising, Tinker Bell tried to call for order but her cries were ignored.

Tinker Bell ended up standing on a table and shouting, "ENOUGH!"

Her eyes glowed, an effect that was terrifying in the diming light.

"Cabin leaders, you will take your campers back to the cabins. Satyrs will bring dinner shortly. The cabin leaders will meet me in the Big House to discuss our options. No one beside the cabin leaders is to leave the cabins. Now, move out!"

Belle grabbed Emma by the arm and gently pulled her along, stopping her protest. They didn't talk as they made their way to Athena cabin, both lost in their own thoughts.

Belle paused at the door, "I've got to go to the Big House, Emma. You stay here and have some food, I'll tell you what's happening as soon as I know." She gave Emma a quick hug and rushed away, leaving Emma alone again.

* * *

Emma paced the cabin impatiently, her dinner cooling on the table. She wasn't sure how long she simply walked back and forth but soon enough Belle was entering their cabin.

"What happened?" She asked, rushing to her sister's side.

"We're preparing the camp for battle. The patrol has been tripled and the rest of us need to rest. You've got the second shift."

"Was is unanimous?"

"There were some other ideas that were quickly shut down. Mary Margaret wanted to give herself up and Keith wanted to hand her over – it took awhile to move past those arguments but we're all in agreement now." She paused and looked to Emma sympathetically, "We decided to leave Killian for now and search for him if we could in the morning."

"That's sentencing him to death," Emma accused.

"Something he seemed to choose for himself," Belle patted her shoulder and moved to her own bed, "Go to bed, Emma, it's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

* * *

Emma was making her way back to her cabin, after her turn of walking in circles around the camp when Ashley ran up to her, still dressed in her pyjamas.

"Emma, it's terrible," the younger girl said, blonde hair in disarray.

"What is, Ashley?"

"She's gone! Mary Margaret's gone! I had to use the bathroom and I noticed she wasn't in her bunk – she most have gone to hand herself over. What are we supposed to do?"

Emma's mind dashed ahead as she tried to think of a way to protect Mary Margaret, "Here's what we're going to do. You're going to go to the Big House and inform Tinker Bell and they can rally the troops."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going after her."

Ashley nodded fearfully and gave Emma a quick kiss on the cheek, "Aphrodite's blessing upon you. Please save my sister."

Emma quickly dashed to the northern edge of the boundary and her worst fears were realised as she noticed John lying unconscious. The tall, shaggy-haired boy seemed to be fine – despite the headache he would probably wake up with – and Emma dragged him away from the edge of the boundary and blew the horn attached to his belt.

She put it on her own belt before the plunged into the darkness of the forest.

* * *

Emma crept through the forest, relying on what little knowledge the satyrs had passed onto her about not bumbling about like a 'drunk mortal'. She slowed when she heard voices ahead and she could begin to make out what was being said.

"... Is enough, Regina. You need to stop punishing everyone for a mistake I made years ago."

"A mistake that cost someone his life!"

"A mistake that has haunted me since I made it! I have trained every day to make sure I would never let it happen again, but I was a child, Regina, and Daniel made the choice." Emma heard Mary Margaret's sigh as she crept closer, seeing the two women standing next to a pile of rocks, "I'm tired of this curse and what it's doing to everyone, it's time to end it."

Emma was only a couple of metres away now and she quickly clamped her hands over her mouth to silence the gasp that escaped her. Killian was encased in a tree, the bark wrapped around parts of his body and his mouth and Emma could see his eyes were anguished.

Mary Margaret stepped closer to Regina and Emma had to stop herself from reaching out as she desperately tried to think of a plan, "Will you keep your promise? One camper for the freedom of the campers, that was the deal." She shot a quick glance at Killian, "And Killian is one of us."

"Yes, that much has been made obvious but unfortunately the deal will not include him. He broke ours even after I had offered him vengeance for his brother and I cannot let that slide."

Killian strained against his bonds and made muffled sounds against the bark, it looked to Emma that he was pleading. She crept closer, hugging the shadows and decided surprise was her only weapon.

"I've learnt some wonderful magic while I've been away from that idiotic camp – they are some great teachers if you know where to look. Would you like a demonstration?"

Regina pulled her arm back and Emma decided she couldn't wait any longer, dashing out of the trees and tackling Regina to the ground.

"Run, Mary Margaret," she shouted, hoping off Regina and moving towards Killian.

Killian began struggling in the tree and she realised why as she froze, unable to move her own body.

"I would have expected better from the Saviour," Regina spat, she spun Emma to face her and she saw Mary Margaret be pulled next to her, "Who wants to go first? Any volunteers?"

Emma felt her own fingers twitch and realised Regina was having trouble maintaining all of her spells. It reminded her of a conversation she'd had with Belle and Emma's eyes moved to the hollow of Regina's throat, where the diamond glinted in the moonlight. She realised she would only have one chance and hoped that her instincts were right.

Regina stood before Emma, a malicious smile on her face.

"Maybe the Saviour first? Then I suppose I will need to deal with your sister as well, just as a precaution."

As Regina pulled her arm back, Emma thrust hers forward, fingers closing around the black diamond and tugging it away, throwing it into the woods.

Regina's shock was evident on her face and it also affected her magic as Emma was freed from her invisible bonds. She heard Killian thump to the ground behind her as she drew her sword, knocking Regina in the temple with the hilt of her blade. As Regina fell, Emma rushed over to where the diamond fell and picked it up, examining it in the moonlight.

"What is it?" Mary Margaret asked, leaving Killian to watch Regina.

"The curse. The only thing we have to figure out is how to break it."

"Can we do it back at camp? Monsters could still attack at any time."

Regina was stirring on the ground, blood at her temple and her eyes narrowed in fury when she saw Emma had the diamond. A fireball grew in her hand and before Killian could stop her, she flung it at Mary Margaret.

Emma tackled her to the ground and the diamond flew out of her hand, into the path of the fire. A force erupted from them when they met, knocking everyone back. Dazzled, Emma stood off Mary Margaret and helped the other girl to her feet. Killian was struggling to his feet and dusted himself off as she made her way over to him.

"Emma," he started.

"Not now, Jones," she said shortly, looking down on Regina. The woman appeared to be unconscious until – quick as a flash – she reached into her sleeve and threw a knife in the direction of... Killian.

Emma didn't realise how much she cared for him until that moment, when her body was the only thing between him and the knife and the world seemed to slow down. What she was doing would not be considered a good battle strategy, a terrible offense for a daughter of Athena, especially when the person she was protecting was basically a traitor anyway. She felt the knife enter her chest and the world suddenly sped up as she hit the ground. She felt hands press into her wound and she gasped with the pain, she heard voices and screams and calls for a medic, but it was a futile endeavour in this lonely area of forest. She heard a voice plead with her to stay, but the world dimmed around her and she only saw a pair of vibrant blue eyes before it all went dark.


	6. beginning v

Emma wasn't any happier the second time she woke up on the couch in the Big House, Tinker Bell hovering over her with a glass of nectar. This time she accepted the drink without protest and enjoyed the cinnamon aftertaste.

As soon as she placed the drink down, Tinker Bell pulled her into a gentle hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered into her hair.

Emma sat up and flinched at the pain in her chest, "What happened?"

"You got in the way of a knife, that's what happened! You lost a bit of blood before Victor was able to reach you, but with the blessing of Apollo, some good work and lots of nectar, you were able to pull through."

"Is everyone alright?"

"Yes, yes, nobody else was hurt. Regina managed to escape but that's a worry for later. If you're okay to get up, we need to get moving."

Emma frowned at her, "I was just stabbed, what's so urgent?"

"The Gods have summoned you, so let's go."

Tinker Bell supported Emma out of the room and they were halfway across when Emma's frazzled mind remembered an important question.

"What's going to happen to Killian?"

Tinker Bell seemed to sag, "That's out of our hands, I'm afraid, it's up to the Gods now. We have to keep him in the basement until they decide his fate. It's such a pity too, he seemed like such a good boy."

The campers cheered as she exited and she awkwardly smiled and waved to them, a genuine smile breaking over her face when she saw Mary Margaret, Belle and Aurora – all cheering loudly. She received hugs from so many different people – protesting when they were a little too forceful – and Tinker Bell had to drag her away, claiming the Gods did not like to wait.

She clambered into the camp van with one of the satyrs driving, a frizzy wig covering his horns. She waved to the campers as she left and tried to ignore her mess of emotions, fear of seeing the Gods, anticipation from meeting her mother and an overwhelming sense of confusion when it came to all things concerning Killian Jones.

* * *

Emma thought her ability to still be amazed should have overloaded by this point. She arrived outside the Empire State Building and per the satyr's instructions, asked for the 600th floor. The elevator doors opening Olympus was the most incredible site she had ever seen, pristine Greek buildings filled with minor Gods and Goddess, floating on a land mass above the clouds.

Even that site was nothing compared to the one facing her, as she entered the chamber of the Gods and was confronted by each of the major Gods, sitting on their thrones in the same horseshoe that the cabins were arranged in. They were each in their godly forms, over five metres tall and dressed in varying outfits of modern clothes.

There was a woman on the right side of the room to whom Emma's eyes immediately drifted. She had brown hair, sensibly tied up and was wearing a shirt, cargo pants and hiking boots. Her stormy grey eyes were calculating and Emma knew without a doubt she was Athena, this was her mother.

She wasn't completely sure of the etiquette concerning Gods, but she knelt at the base of Zeus' throne – a severe looking man in a pinstriped suit – and hoped she wouldn't be blasted to smithereens.

"Well met, young half-blood," Zeus rumbled, "You may rise."

"Thank you, Lord Zeus," Emma said, attempting to be respectful.

"You have done the Gods a great service and we can choose to reward those as we see fit. You have freed our children from a terrible curse and for that action, we have decided to give you a great gift. Immortality is yours if you so choose it."

Emma was stunned at the magnitude of the offer. Immortality was tempting for a moment – never growing old, never having to die. She would never have to fear another knife again. But the temptation faded as she thoughts of her friends, her  _family_ , her home, all turned to dust while she never grew old.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Lord Zeus, but I'm afraid I must decline. May I ask for another gift instead?"

Zeus raised his brow at her, "Unusual. What would you ask for?"

Emma considered that she could be killed in a lightning strike very soon, but decided to continue anyway.

"Lord Zeus, I would not have been able to break the camp without the assistance of other half-bloods. It was my sister, Belle, who determined that the curse had to be held in something – something that could be broken." She snuck a glance at her mother and was surprised and reassured by the smile on her face, "I would ask a gift for the camp and not for myself. Things at Camp Half-Blood need to change, to prevent more incidents occurring. I would ask that all children be claimed and that children of the minor Gods and Goddess be permitted to build their own cabins. Also that all children be identified and brought to camp by the time they reach their thirteenth birthday, so they can be aware of the family they could have and learn how to protect themselves."

Emma cringed as she heard the discontent mutterings.

"Are you claiming we are failings in our duties, child?" Zeus demanded.

Before she could respond, Athena cut in, "Do not be offended, Father. My daughter is right. Our strategy concerning our children has been lacking and we do need to remedy this. Emma offers a wonderful suggestion to ensure more half-bloods do not join Regina's cause – and whomever else she may be working with – and work to fight against us."

Other voices added their agreement and Zeus sat back in his throne, "Very well, we shall call for a vote. Those for the child's plan?"

Emma looked around in wonder as the majority of the Gods raised their hands, signalling their agreement.

"Fine, we shall swear to the terms later and inform Tinker Bell of the changes. We thank you again for your services, Emma Swan, daughter of Athena."

Emma hesitated at the obvious dismissal and swallowed before she spoke, "May I ask something else, Lord Zeus?" At his nod, she continued, "I ask that you spare Killian Jones."

Her mother tutted, "You were showing such wisdom before child, do not let emotions cloud your judgement. It would not be sensible to allow a traitor to stay in the camp."

"You would ask we spare my son?" The God to the right of Zeus asked. Emma wondered if Killian knew how much he looked like his father, they shared the same colouring and dark hair, although Poseidon's eyes were sea-green rather than blue. They both seemed to share the same sense of restlessness, like they weren't truly comfortable unless they were near the ocean.

"I would, my Lord. In his anger, he made a mistake but he tried to rectify it. I'm not asking for him to go unpunished, but let him stay at the camp to try and redeem himself."

"We will consider your offer." Zeus claimed and Emma knew she had been truly dismissed. She bowed to the Gods and shot a quick glance towards her mother, and exited the hall.

* * *

Athena appeared before her as she neared the edge of Olympus, this time not much taller than Emma.

"I would speak with you, child."

Emma ducked her head, "Of course, Mother."

She felt strong fingers raise her chin and she was entranced by stormy grey eyes.

"I would have you know that I am proud of you, and your sister. You both have achieved so much together."

"Thank you, Mother," Emma said, blushing.

"We do not get to interact with our children as much as we like, even Gods have restrictions. But I know you have questions and I am not sure when we will be able to speak again?"

"Who's my father?"

Athena nodded, "Straight to the point. Your father was much like that, he did not possess much tact. Your lineage is very special, Emma, and I'm afraid you must find most of this out for yourself. It is the true way to obtain knowledge." She smiled indulgently at Emma's scowl, "Your father's name was David Nolan, he was quite a remarkable man."

"He was?" Emma asked quietly.

"I'm afraid he is dead, child. He was driving when monsters attacked, he left you someplace safe and led them away, hoping to fight them off. They turned out to be too much even for him."

"Are you saying he didn't abandon me?"

"Of course not, your father loved you very much. He considered you to be the greatest thing in his life. There were monsters everywhere, he left you in the hollow of a tree and kissed your forehead as he lead them away, it was the hardest thing he had to do. And the last."

Emma had tears in her eyes, "Why didn't you save him?"

"I could not interfere. All I could do was eventually guide someone to you, much like I guided you to camp." Athena sighed, "I am sorry to burden you with so much, Emma, but I'm afraid what your father started will fall to you, and I cannot protect you from it any longer."

"What do you mean?" Emma demanded, "Why must you talk in riddles?"

"It is the restrictions," Athena said, stroking Emma's face, "But for now, celebrate your victory and your life at camp. The burdens will come, but for now, be free."

With that, Athena disappeared, leaving Emma with more questions than answers.

* * *

Emma settled back quickly into camp life. It was quieter than usual as the majority of campers had left to finally visit their families. She had a tearful goodbye with Belle a couple of days after the curse broke, with hugging and crying and promises to return soon.

There were changes occurring in the camp as all the undetermined children were quickly claimed by their parents and Aurora was eagerly drawing up plans for her own cabin. More children were trickling into camp every day and Emma and Mary Margaret and the other remaining campers were busy with settling them in, remembering how terrifying and confusing it was on her first day.

It had been a week since the curse broke and Emma realised she had not yet spoken with Killian. Killian had been sentenced to stay in the camp and work on repairing the damage from the time spent under the curse. Basically, nothing had changed for him, only that other campers were wary of him.

She made her way to the beach, knowing he'd be hiding there, and sat next to him when she finally found him.

"Swan," he greeted her, and it hurt Emma to hear the pain in his voice.

"Hey, Killian."

"I never did truly apologise, did I?" He said, turning so she could see the sincerity in her eyes, "I am so sorry I betrayed you and this camp, Emma. When I met Regina, she made it all sound so simple and I will always be ashamed that I agreed. I didn't think I could feel anything but anger until..." He swallowed and she was absorbed by the blue of his eyes, "Until I met you."

Emma's breath caught and she couldn't stop the smile that spread over her face, "That's because you've got nothing but seaweed in your head."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, "Come on, Seaweed Brain, we've got a lot of work to do."

Killian followed willingly, his hand warm in her own, "As you wish, Emma."

_End of arc 1 - Beginning_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have reached the end of what I have written so far - thanks for sticking around. The grand plan for this is that it has another two arcs and then it will be finished, the next arc introducing more characters that are missing and hopefully answering some questions.
> 
> I need to re-read Heroes of Olympus (is that a spoiler?) before I get back to it so I have no idea when the next update will be. But I love this fic so I can assure you I will finish it.


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